As they walked further inside, the laughter grew louder.
Passing through a small, artificially cultivated bamboo grove.
Only then did Fei Qingqing clearly see the scene inside.
A woman in a gossamer dress that looked like it would tear with a single tug sat on a stone chair playing a zither, while a man with a smiling face poured tea for the middle-aged, somewhat bald man in the center who was shirtless.
Fang Yanhuan sat beside them, peeling grapes with a smile.
“Oh, new arrivals?” Fu Lin’s hand caressed the man's waist, his cloudy eyes lingering on Fei Qingqing. “Fei Qingqing, isn’t it?”
Fei Qingqing stood still, not moving.
“Why so dull?” Fu Lin found her silence boring. “Yanhuan, is this the person you brought?”
“Brother Fu, please don’t,” Fang Yanhuan offered a juicy grape to Fu Lin’s lips, her own lips curling upwards, her eyes full of affection as she looked at Fu Lin. “Qingqing doesn’t talk much, but her acting is top-notch, and she has many fans. If she plays Hua Jin’s master, it will definitely be a huge hit.”
Fu Lin’s eyes darted around, neither agreeing nor objecting.
Fang Yanhuan mistook Fu Lin’s hesitation as a sign of interest and practically sat on his lap.
Fu Lin patted Fang Yanhuan’s waist. “Alright, it’s not business time today. But if you truly want this role, I’m willing to give her a chance, on the premise that she knows how to seize it.”
“Don’t worry, Brother Fu.”
“I like smart people like you.”
Fu Lin looked at Fang Yanhuan with regret. If it weren’t for Wen Wenlan behind her, he would have made a move long ago. How could he be reduced to just touching her and flirting now?
Thinking of this, a fire ignited within him. He pulled the man beside him into his arms and began to grope him.
“Brother Fu,” the man’s face paled. He wrapped his arms around Fu Lin’s neck. “There are people here.”
Fu Lin glanced at Fang Yanhuan. “You and Fei Qingqing can go down. Call me when you’ve thought it through.”
Fei Qingqing watched Fu Lin’s actions, her body trembling slightly. She didn’t know how she had left the courtyard.
“Qingqing, do you know what you were doing just now?”
“Yanhuan,” Fei Qingqing looked at Fang Yanhuan as if seeing her for the first time. “You know I don’t want to take this path.”
“What path?” Fang Yanhuan impatiently interrupted Fei Qingqing. “Qingqing, you know better than I do what kind of place the entertainment industry is. Without connections, without a backer, how long can you last on this path?”
“You?”
“I want to help you, but I can’t help you forever. You should know that although I’m a wealthy young lady, my family can’t support me much further in the entertainment industry. I was just lucky to meet Wen Lan.”
“I know,” Fei Qingqing’s expression was complicated. “I know you’re doing this for my own good.”
But she didn’t want this kind of goodness. Her grandmother had always told her to rely on herself and not to do anything against her principles for the sake of profit.
Seeing that she couldn’t persuade her, Fang Yanhuan’s eagerness lessened. “Then you should think about it carefully. You know everything I’m doing is for your own good. If you really don’t want to, I can’t do anything.”
“Thank you. I will consider it carefully,” Fei Qingqing took a deep breath. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”
Fang Yanhuan nodded. “Alright, but I’ll say it again sincerely. This drama is about to start filming soon. If they can’t find a suitable person, the role will be deleted. You’ve seen it, right? This is a very good role. You don’t want her to disappear just because no one can play it well, do you?”
Fei Qingqing didn’t say anything and got into her van to leave.
Fang Yanhuan, enraged, kicked a trash can by the roadside. What a waste of words. If it weren’t for snatching the role from Fang Miaomiao, and because she genuinely valued Fei Qingqing’s acting skills, why would she have wasted so much time talking to her?
…
When Fang Miaomiao returned home, it was already dark.
Wen Zhiyan had prepared three dishes and one soup.
“Mom, what did you do this afternoon? Anan didn’t see you when he finished his homework,” Wen Yan’an said cautiously.
Seeing this, Fang Miaomiao couldn’t help but curse herself inwardly. How had she turned her little darling into this?
“Mom went to do something very important. Does Anan want to hear about it?”
“Can Anan hear?”
“Of course. Do you think your mom suspects the relationship between Fang Yanhuan and Fei Qingqing? So, I hired a detective to investigate.”
“What were the results?” Wen Zhiyan served Fang Miaomiao a bowl of soup.
“The result is…” Fang Miaomiao sneered. “I’m the big fool.”
“Hmm?”
Fang Miaomiao sighed and explained the whole story.
“So, Mom was impersonated?” Wen Yan’an asked curiously.
Fang Miaomiao nodded. “Although I hate to admit it, that’s exactly what happened.”
“Then what do you plan to do?”
“I originally wanted to tell Fei Qingqing the truth, but I suspect she’s involved in something, so I don’t want to say anything now.”
“The incident where you got hurt?”
“Yes, the monitoring equipment in the prop room was deliberately damaged. Once it’s repaired, we’ll know who went in and did it, and there will be fingerprints. We’re just waiting for this evidence.”
“What if it really involves Fei Qingqing?”
“Then she’ll have to bear the consequences herself. I’m not a saint. If someone is trying to harm me, and I still say ‘it’s okay, I forgive you,’ wouldn’t that be foolish?”
“Okay.”
The three ate dinner in silence, then all rushed to the living room to look at the contents of the file bag.
Wen Yan’an looked for a while before looking at Fang Miaomiao with a wronged expression. “Mom, there are some words I don’t recognize.”
Fang Miaomiao chuckled. “What words don’t you recognize?”
Wen Yan’an pointed at a character with his finger.
Wen Zhiyan tutted. “You’ll have to gnaw on a dictionary from now on.”
Wen Yan’an pretended not to hear.
After reading them, Wen Zhiyan said, “Miaomiao, this isn’t enough to prosecute.”
Fang Miaomiao: “……”
When had she said she was going to sue Fei Qingqing?
“I’m not stupid. If I were to sue, I’d sue Fei Qingqing for attempted murder,” Fang Miaomiao sighed. “I just don’t know when the evidence from the other side will come out.”
“Soon. And by the way, Chen Tianming can arrange for someone to replace Fei Qingqing’s position.”
“Everything is ready, except for the crucial element.”
Wen Yan’an looked at Wen Zhiyan, then at Fang Miaomiao, and nodded like a little adult. “Mom is amazing.”
A storm was about to sweep through the entertainment industry.
Fang Miaomiao was woken by the ringing of her phone.
“Hello, who is it?”
“Me.”
Fang Miaomiao’s spirits instantly lifted. “Director Chen, why are you calling me today?”
Chen Tianming rolled his eyes. “Stop playing dumb. Did you know all along that Fei Qingqing was going to harm you?”
“I’m not a god, can I predict the future?”
“Stop pretending. All the evidence from the other side is out.”
To be honest, he was shocked when he saw the surveillance footage. He had never imagined that the docile Fei Qingqing would secretly sneak into the prop room and cut the wire rope.